Teaching C++

[mjcoss]

Originally Posted by mmavipc

I've found that just teaching people the language isn't good enough. You have to teach them how to think like a programmer.

Exactly. The other issue is that it's not sufficient to think like a programmer, and know the language. You need to have some understanding of mechanical, and electrical systems. Coding up a motor to run is all well and good, but understanding that the motor needs to be driven to hold an arm in position against an opposing force (gravity ) is another thing.

A number of the items I mentioned are functions of the operating system that is being used, and the hardware. There are books on VxWorks that explain how the OS works, and what features are available. There are books on control theory but most of the ones that I have are not really for novices. For more info than you'll ever want to know about C++, you can use Bjarne Stroustrup's book. I always believe in going straight to the source, but for a novice programmer it can be a daunting book.

Also, I agree that Python is another viable language for teaching how to program. The hello world program is probably the easiest and clearest of any language